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EXAMPLES OF MAJOR UNIONS OF STATES 207
training the m ilitia according to the discipline prescribed by
C ongress;
T o exercise exclusive legislation in all cases w hatsoever, over
such district (not exceeding ten m iles square) as m ay, b y cession
of particular states, and the acceptance of Congress, becom e the
seat of the governm ent of the U nited States,1 and to exercise like
authority over all places purchased b y the consent of the legis­
lature of the state in w hich the sam e shall be, for the erection of
forts, m agazines, arsenals, dockyards and other needful build ­
ings; and
T o m ake all law s w hich shall be necessary and proper for
carrying into execution the foregoing pow ers vested by this C on ­
stitution in the governm ent of the U nited States, or in any
departm ent or office thereof.

A part from allocating certain special powers to the federal
government, the United States constitution lays down certain
specifics in regard to migration of persons, the inviolability of
habeas corpus except ‘when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the
public safety may require it5, export taxes and duties, inter-state
duties, the avoidance of preference in the regulation of com­
merce or revenue as between the ports of the different states,
the appropriation of moneys from the federal treasury, as well
as a num ber of other matters.
The constitution can be amended by approval of two-thirds
of both houses of Congress, or ‘on the application of the legis­
latures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a convention
for proposing amendments, which in either case shall be valid
to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when
ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states,
or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the
other mode of ratification may be proposed by Congress5. No
amendment, however, can, without its consent, deprive any of
the states of its equal suffrage in the Senate.
Three distinct authorities have been entrusted with the powers
of the central government: executive, legislative and judicial.
The executive head is the President, who is elected for a term of
four years by electors chosen for that purpose from each of the
1 That is, the District of Columbia, in which Washington, the capital, is
situated.